Francis Ngannou opens up on fatal crash which killed teenage girl

Francis Ngannou has revealed he has been suffering sleepless nights after a motorbike crash that killed a 17-year-old girl.

The former UFC heavyweight champion was riding through Yaounde, Cameroon, over the Easter weekend this year when he struck a pedestrian, identified as Ntsama Brigitte Manuella. Ngannou immediately rushed her to Yaounde General Hospital and covered her medical expenses, but she tragically died several days later.

The devastating accident occurred just a year after the loss of his 15-month-old son Kobe - who died from a brain malformation. It's been an incredibly difficult period for the 'Predator' - who last competed in October 2024, beating Renan Ferreira to claim the inaugural PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship, reports All Out Fighting.

Months following Manuella's death, Ngannou spoke publicly about the incident for the first time, with the 38 year old explaining he was riding his motorbike at around 7pm when the crash happened. Speaking on the Ariel Helwani show, he said: "I was going by my mom's place and I get to this, it was like on the boulevard, and I saw this girl trying to cross the street.

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"But I noticed that she didn't look, because I saw her and it was like a three-way lane side of road, but I noticed that she didn't see. I wanted to go behind her because she was walking fast. Problem is that last minute she turned around and she saw me and she froze there. I had a few seconds, and I hit her with the left side of my motorcycle because I was almost passed, and I was like 300 yards away from a police station. I didn't even fall off the motorcycle, but she fell, so I'm like, 'Should I go report this?' But she's laying on the floor. I parked my motorcycle, go there, carry her, put her in the taxi, and then follow her to the hospital. We get in the hospital. I took her outside. She has a tibia fracture, but I took her out of the car, and she was aware now and in pain, which was a good sign.

"I took her to the emergency room. They reassured me everything is good, but I still stayed there for like two hours until people came. ... I left, was reassured that everything was good. I mean, not 'good' because she's hurt, but I'm like, 'Oh, it wasn't the worst. It could have been worse than this.' And every day they were telling me, I was having the follow-up like, 'Oh, she's good.' Because the same night, her family came there, and she was good for the next two days, and they were prepping her surgery. She went for the surgery and never woke up. And just like that [she died]. I'm like, 'How come? What's happened?'"

Despite the heartbreak of losing his son, the experience helped the Cameroonian fighter in how he dealt with his motorbike crash after he remembered moments when his boy was receiving treatment. Ngannou urged the medical team to examine whether the 17-year-old woman had internal bleeding and also requested an MRI scan.

The 'Predator' was battling for some time following the collision, confessing: "So, now over sleepless nights, dealing with all this, thinking of what you could have done, or should have done, how could you, what would you have done to avoid that, it's a really bad feeling." Just days following the incident, Ngannou said that he has supported the woman's family.

He paid for medical expenses, visited them privately and promised ongoing assistance. In the same interview with Helwani, the PFL star disclosed what the family told him. "They even say, okay, we know that he was in the accident, but we saw how you fight for our daughter," Ngannou recalled.

He explained that the family acknowledged his choice not to flee the scene but instead to lift her into a taxi, accompany her to the hospital, and stay by her side for hours. He added: "I met them, we talked and then I also explained to them, what really happened. I say, 'Okay, I don't know if you want to hear because I know you are in the grief at this moment, but if you want to hear what's happened, I can talk about it. But I'm not here to give an explanation. I just want you to know the story, you know, because like one thing that you have to understand is that when somebody is laying down with no life, never be right."

When is Francis Ngannou's next fight?

It's been nearly a year since Ngannou last stepped into the ring. The PFL recently put on two landmark events in Africa, with Ngannou playing a key role in bringing MMA to his cherished continent. Yet many were left baffled as to why he didn't compete on either card. Explaining his absence, he revealed: "For example, like if you want to know what exactly is the reason why I wasn't there. I wasn't very okay with the first PFL Africa event seeming to be like an undercard.

"Quoting him, we work a lot for that, PFL Africa, but I hoped PFL Africa's debut would have at least have its glory, its moment. But that wasn't my decision and I wasn't down for it. I express my feeling to them." Regarding his potential comeback, the 38 year old has his sights set on a bout with Deontay Wilder - possibly sometime later this year - though he's disclosed that talks with the boxing legend's camp are yet to begin.